Optical Mounting Brackets - lighter weight and less sensitive to shock

High energy optical components, such as beam splitters, are specified and designed to meet increasingly tight system level alignment budgets while subjected to severe environmental loads. These loads include shock and vibration loads generated by a number of sources, such as those environments present for the Airborne Laser. Kinematic mounts supporting these components are a desirable design feature that allows conformance to the multitude of requirements. Ease of adjustment during integration and test and low mass are also required. HYTEC has extensive experience in the design of kinematic supports, notably those provided for the SCIP instrument telescopes and optical bench for the NASA STEREO program. These mounts have been demonstrated to possess near ideal kinematic behavior, and contain provisions for pitch and yaw alignment. These mounts will be evaluated and modified for use as a kinematic mounting bracket to support optical components such as beam splitters.